


Misaki Okusawa Plays Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition for the Nintendo Switch

by silversilky



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Heropon Riki - Freeform, Pre-Relationship, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:21:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25289752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silversilky/pseuds/silversilky
Summary: What would you do with thirty minutes? It doesn't sound like a lot of time, but there's plenty of things you could do to fill it. Take a walk, watch a video, get into a book, talk to a friend. Write a song. Practice on the DJ decks. Stare at a bear costume and wonder how things turned out the way they did. Or you could play a video game.
Relationships: Matsubara Kanon/Okusawa Misaki
Comments: 13
Kudos: 44





	Misaki Okusawa Plays Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition for the Nintendo Switch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DivineNoodles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DivineNoodles/gifts).



What would you do with thirty minutes? It doesn't sound like a lot of time, but there's plenty of things you could do to fill it. Take a walk, watch a video, get into a book, talk to a friend. Write a song. Practice on the DJ decks. Stare at a bear costume and wonder how things turned out the way they did.

  
_"Born in a world of strife! Against the odds! We choose to fight! BLOSSOM DANCE!"_

  
Or you could play a video game. Misaki slouches back down against the wall until she unceremoniously hits the floor with a jolt that goes up her spine. She gathers her legs up until she's in a sort of fetal position, knees hugged up against her chest with her slate gray Nintendo Switch Lite (TM) balanced against them as she grips it carefully in both hands. On the screen, a battle's playing out. This is the last Orluga she needs to take down to get some much-needed cash for new armor.

  
Misaki knows the game well--it's not her first time with it, she played through the original version to completion when she was younger. Blasted through it, in fact, since she had so much more free time in those days. No Hello Happy to worry about. The fact that she has to play in quick intervals, in the gaps between shows and practice and song writing... it's a nice sort of inconvenience.

  
Tap. Tap tap tap. Reposition, pick up Dunban from where he just got toppled. Tap tap tap. The sound effects of the fight--the Monado's activation sound, Sharla's protests that her rifle's getting hotter, Dunban's confident cries of _"Electric Gutbuster!"_ , they all come together to remind her that she should have grabbed her earbuds before leaving the house if she didn't want the chance of being exposed as... a gamer. But it's fine, nobody's here anyway. CiRCLE's back rooms are usually empty before a show. Her own little haven.

  
Thirty minutes--maybe twenty-five by now, that's all she's got before they're set to gather backstage. All the early prep is done and the Michelle suit should be ready and waiting for her. It's just another show. She can practically see it now like her very own Monado-enabled future vision, as much as she can ever see anything through the mesh eyes of the suit.

  
Kokoro at the front singing into her microphone--covered in stickers and decorations despite Marina's disapproval, before the Suits came in to provide CiRCLE with a generous grant for new equipment--with a smile on her face wide enough that it just has to spread through the crowd. Kaoru and Hagumi strumming away without a care in the world, so effortless you would never know how hard they both worked to get to that point. And Kanon laying down a steady beat with all her strength... her hair flipping around as she bobs her head along with the motion of her well-muscled arms, sweat flying and smile shining bright on her face--yes, Misaki will gladly admit (to herself) that she remembers that one particular sight very clearly.

  
_"We're starting to look like a team!"_ Sharla yells, and Misaki shakes her head. Tap tap. Reposition. The Orluga's health is nearly gone, just gotta hit it with a chain attack once the party gauge is full.

  
...When she thinks about it, maybe Hello, Happy World is similar to the in-game gang. Not 1-1, but the feeling of being part of a ragtag band of friends fighting some huge, unstoppable force is so familiar that she can't shake the feeling easily. It's just that in the game, their enemy is pretty clearly defined as the forces of Mechonis, where Hello Happy's enemy is... unhappiness? Discontentment? The thought of Kokoro yelling "I'll kill you!" to the vague concept of a frown makes Misaki snort.

  
"Misaki-chan?"

  
Misaki's gaze jerks up and her eyes go wide at the same time that her final Backslash connects to finish off the Orluga, its giant body slamming to the ground and disappearing to leave a chest behind. _Quest Complete!_ , the screen tells her happily.

  
Kanon is standing there with one arm bent around to hold the other a little nervously. She smiles despite it, and nods down at the console in Misaki's hands. "Were you playing something? Sorry, I don't wanna bother you, Misaki-chan, I was just looking for someplace to catch my breath before the show..." She looks like she half-regrets saying it as the smile slowly turns into a shaky frown, and she bends forward a little more. "Fuee... um, if you'd rather I left, I can--"

  
"No!" Misaki hurriedly replies, before stopping and clearing her throat. She puts the Switch down and pats the floor next to her. "Um, Kanon-san, go ahead and sit down. Is there anything you wanna... talk about...?"

  
Folding down carefully and pulling her knees in close to mimic Misaki, Kanon doesn't reply at first, just wraps her arms around her legs tightly. Eventually her eyes flick to Misaki again, peering out from under long blue hair. "Mmm... it's just the same stuff. I don't know why it's so bad today." She looks away and taps her fingers along her leg, taking up as little space as possible.

  
Misaki wants to reach out and hug her so badly. But there's an unspoken barrier between them. Physical contact--hugs, hand-holding, stuff like that--isn't something they've done before. It feels off limits, especially when they're just friends.

  
So instead of that, she does her best to reply in the calmest tone she can manage. "I mean, dysphoria's not really logical... there doesn't have to be a reason," Misaki says, a little weakly as she holds herself back. Kanon nods. Misaki leans back against the wall, looking up until the back of her head bonks against it. She thinks. She could help talk Kanon through it if there was a reason... but as it is, maybe it's best to just come up with ways to distract her until it starts to fade.

  
...

  
"Hey, Kanon."

  
Questioning violet eyes peek out to her. "Misaki-chan?"

  
Misaki picks up the Switch and scoots a little closer to Kanon, still keeping a small distance but moving enough that she can tilt the screen and make it easy for Kanon to see the display, where Shulk stands waiting for her to direct him wherever she wants him to go. "You wanna watch me play for a bit? I can tell you about, um... the characters and stuff."

  
"..." Kanon lifts her head a bit and stares at the screen curiously. She looks up to Misaki, who gulps, hoping her idea isn't as thoughtless and stupid as it just sounded to her when she said it out loud. And then Kanon starts to smile a little.

  
"What game is it?"

  
And it works. Or, at least, as much as Misaki can tell, it seems to do the job of distracting her from her thoughts. Twenty-five minutes quickly turns into twenty, then fifteen, as Misaki shows Kanon the ins and outs of Xenoblade Chronicles. Kanon watches intently, sometimes nodding or sliding a little bit closer to Misaki to get a better look and not moving away once she has. Misaki teleports around to show her the different environments, creatures, and all the different characters in the party. "She's so pretty!" Kanon excitedly exclaims on first seeing Melia, before looking a little embarrassed. Misaki has to hold in a quiet giggle before moving on.

  
"Now, I'm close to picking up another new member... hold on, let me get to him quick so you can see him before we have to get ready." Misaki sees Kanon tense up a little at the reminder of the show looming over them both--twelve minutes or so to go, now--and bites her tongue. She sends Shulk inside the hollow tree that houses Frontier Village, heading to the Nopon chief and starting up the next plot cutscene before skipping through some dialogue she already knows. Eventually she reaches the part she's been looking for and sits back against the wall.

  
_"May I introduce..."_ the chief starts to say as the music swells, _"Heropon Riki!"_ The camera swings upward and then something flies down towards the party--slamming into Reyn's face first and sending him reeling, before bouncing to the rest of them one by one like a furry beach ball before being spiked down to the ground. The other Nopon pelt him with various objects, calling out his name and telling him to get up.

  
"...Um, is that him?" Kanon asks a little incredulously, staring at the little ball of orange fluff as he's hit with a mushroom, and Misaki chuckles.

  
"Yeah. Just--yeah, hold on, he'll introduce himself in a second." Misaki tilts the screen a bit more and leans towards Kanon as Riki's finally grabbed and yanked up to his feet by the chief. He shakes his head and looks up at the rest of the party, who are collectively peering down at him with expressions not too dissimilar from the one Kanon's wearing.

  
He puffs out his chest proudly. _"New Hom Hom friends! Meet this year's legendary Heropon, Riki!"_ Riki says with a surprisingly confident smile on his round little face. _"Riki live to serve!"_ Winking, he lifts up a hand--paw--ear?--to salute the party as they stare back at the ridiculous little creature who seems to be entirely on board with the idea of going to fight terrifying beasts alongside them. Kanon giggles, and Misaki melts a little at the sound of it.

  
"He's so cute!" Kanon says with a smile as the rest of the scene plays out. "He feels kind of familiar... like he reminds me of someone." Riki bounces around enthusiastically and Misaki's sure she knows what Kanon's talking about.

  
She nods. "He is kinda like Hagumi and Kokoro, isn't he?"

  
Kanon shakes her head and looks over to Misaki. "Well, yeah, he is!" she clarifies quickly, waving her palms. "But he's kind of like... well, he's a little like Michelle, too, don't you think?"

  
"..."

  
Misaki stares at her until Kanon starts to shrink a little. "Fuee... is that a weird thing to say?"

  
"No, no, not at all!" Misaki scrambles to reply as she puts the Switch down, game paused, "I just... how so? I don't think I quite get it."

  
Kanon leans back against the wall and stares up and to the right as she thinks, putting a finger on her chin and tapping it. It's really cute. "Um... well, he's fluffy." Misaki sure as hell can't argue with that. "And he seems pretty upbeat and funny--Michelle is like that too! And such a little guy agreeing to go with them on a dangerous mission..." Those big violet eyes find Misaki's gaze and hold it. "He must be pretty brave to do that, right? And Michelle is very brave... I think."

  
Misaki blinks, and the spell is broken. The two of them look away in an instant as a flush starts to spread up Misaki's face, and she hears a faint "Fueee..." from beside her as she buries her head in her shoulder. Kanon really thinks that about her? Or about Michelle, the little Kokoro in her brain reminds her cheerily.

  
...But seriously, she really thinks Misaki is brave?

  
And then there's a soft, slow pressure against her side. Misaki's entire body freezes up at the contact, as Kanon's arm rubs against hers and she feels the toned muscle the other girl has built up from drumming. A few quiet breaths are all that can be heard before Kanon's breathy, nervous voice fills their corner of the room.

  
"Misaki-chan..." Kanon whispers, "...you know, Michelle isn't just brave. She makes me feel brave, too, when I'm close to her. Like I can beat those thoughts I have about myself. Misa--Michelle makes me feel like I can do anything." A long pause. "Even, um--"

  
Searching fingers find Misaki's hand, drift down her palm and discover the gaps between her own, interlocking gently and carefully. A squeeze. "Even something like this."

  
What would you do with five minutes? It doesn't sound like a lot of time, but there's plenty of things you could do to fill it. Take a walk, watch a video, get into a book, talk to a friend. Write a song. Practice on the DJ decks. Play a video game. Stare at a bear costume and wonder how things turned out the way they did--and feel so, so grateful that they did. That you ended up right here, at this moment.

  
Misaki squeezes back.

**Author's Note:**

> happy late birthday amelia! thanks for always being such a wonderful friend <3
> 
> comments are always appreciated and i'm on twitter @tractioncities as well!


End file.
